Jay’s Safety Planning Toolkit For Suicide Prevention - Launch event

On Tuesday 19 May, a new toolkit to support adults at risk of self-harm or suicide will be launched at The University of Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery, as part of a free and interactive event open to all.

Jay’s Personalised Safety Planning Toolkit, co-designed by researchers, people with lived experience, and healthcare professionals, is an evidence-based, practical guide that offers a more personalised approach to safety planning within health and care settings, offering meaningful support to help save more lives.

The Safety Planning Toolkit can be used by:

· Individuals themselves

· Families, friends, and wider support networks

· Health and social care professionals

The launch event is open to anyone with an interest in safety planning for self-harm and suicide prevention, including practitioners from across health and social care, as well as individuals who may use safety planning themselves, along with family, friends and other support people.

What to expect at the launch event

The day will start with tea & coffee from 9:30am, with a prompt start at 10am for a full programme of interactive sessions and workshops. Along the day, participants will engage with a theatre production by The Lawnmowers, a producing theatre-arts company run by and for people with learning difficulties, bringing powerful reflections on the importance of safety planning for suicide prevention in day-to-day life.

Along the day, attendees will:

· Learn more about the development of Jay’s Personalised Safety Planning Toolkit

· Understand why personalised safety planning is needed for suicide prevention

· Explore how the toolkit can be implemented across different contexts and settings

· Take part in presentations and roundtable discussions

· Network with other participants and organisations represented

Lunch will be provided, along with refreshments throughout the day.

About Jay and the inspiration behind the toolkit

The toolkit is named after, and dedicated to, Jaymie Mart (Jay), who lost her life to suicide at the age of 32 in 2012. Jay’s mum, Paula Mart, has influenced and guided the development of the toolkit from the outset. At the event, participants will have the opportunity to hear more about Paula and Jay’s story, and how their experiences inspired and shaped the creation of this new toolkit.

“If my daughter had a personalised safety plan and had known what to do when she was in difficulty, I am convinced she would have been with us today. This is why I am so passionate about this work, and Jaymie’s spirit is my inspiration. A personalised safety plan goes so much deeper than just a piece of paper. It holds the hope for someone.”

Paula Mart

Roadshows and online launch

The launch event in Manchester will be hosted by the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (GM PSRC), as a part of a series of roadshows this spring in different cities in the North of England, such as Carlisle, Newcastle, Teesside, Sunderland and West Cumbria. The Manchester event will be last roadshow, with the capacity for 100 delegates.

If you’re unable to attend the event in Manchester or any of the other roadshows, an online launch is also planned for Wednesday 13 May. You can sing up for the online launch here.

Jay’s Study

Jay’s Personalised Safety Planning Toolkit was developed as a result of ‘Jay’s Study’, a research project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit Programme. The work was led by a team of researchers based across the universities of Manchester, Teesside and Northumbria, also supported by the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (GM PSRC) and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria.

The toolkit work is based on research evidence and was co-designed with people who have lived experience, alongside health and social care professionals. It has been developed to support good-quality, personalised safety planning in practice. It follows national guidance, including recommendations from NICE and the NHS.

Read more about the development of the toolkit.

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